All three go with a White House official to examine the fence. The Minnesota contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. “Well,” he says, “I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”

The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, “I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me.”

The Chicago contractor doesn’t measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, “$2,700.”

The official, incredulous, says, “You didn’t even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?”

The Chicago contractor whispers back, “$1000 for me, $1000 for you, and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence.”

“Done!” replies the government official.

And that, my friends, is how the new stimulus plan will work.

——————

Thanks to my mother-in-law for this fun little note. Comment with your own stimulus joke below…

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

Stimulation Nation

Here is a short description of Meltdown from the Mises Institute.

*****
Why the heck is this happening to us? What happened to mortgages, to banks, to large retailers, to retirement savings, to stock prices, to the availability of credit? How could so many errors have coincided?

To the media pundits and government officials, this is a market failing that requires the government to take trillions of dollars from you and run the money presses full time. Otherwise we are doomed.

But there is another way to look at the great market collapse of 2008: the whole thing, including the bubble that preceded it, is the fault of the government and the Fed. All attempts to “fix” the problem are like forcing the patient to swallow more of the poison from which he currently suffers.

Mises.org has been making this argument, and warned of the coming crash years ago. But where can you find the argument explained for the average person in a convenient package, without technical jargon and with logic and facts?

Enter Tom Woods with his blockbuster book Meltdown. It’s all here, all the information you need to understand what is happening and what to do about it. It is billed as a free-market response to the crisis but it is more precisely an Austrian School response.

He covers the problem of housing subsidies, of low interest loans, of the absurdities of the boom times, and how it was inevitable that they would come to an end. He puts the fault right where it belongs: with the government and the central bank.

He further blasts the political establishment for taking exactly the wrong path in response. Interest rates should be raised, not lowered. Government spending should be cut, not increased. Tax should be reduced. Regulations should be cut, not expanded. On the current path, the bozos in Washington are going to wreck whatever hope for recovery there is.

The great thing about this volume is that it is rooted in serious ideas. We aren’t talking about some quicky investment book by a media talking head. Professor Woods is steeped in the ideas of Mises, Hayek, and Rothbard, and never misses a chance to explain the relationship between theory and reality. It contains what might be the clearest explanation of Austrian business cycle theory ever written.

This book is a fantastic weapon in the intellectual battle that is taking place right now. It needs to become a bestseller, and it could. You can do your part by distributing it as widely as possible. History really does hang in the balance.

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

“Meltdown!” Book Review

But having no plan of their own with which to replace Obama’s — except for the traditional Republican miracle cure, tax cuts — they focused on an emotional appeal, claiming that the recession really isn’t anything to get excited about, and that the President was trying to terrorize Americans into supporting his plan. Their cue-card read “Fear,” and rightbloggers big and small scribbled it down:

“Fear is the new hope,” said Libertarian Christians…

I’m listed along with other bloggers such as Big Dog’s Weblog, Sheepdog’s Blog, The Freedomist, Wizbang, American Glob, and Desert Conservative. Seriously? As far as I can tell, all of these guys are hardcore Republicans (any of them are free to correct me if I’m wrong). Now, I’m sure that these bloggers are respectable fellows, but to conflate our ideologies pretty much means you either (a) don’t know what a libertarian is, (b) don’t know what right-wing means, or (c) didn’t read what I wrote. Now, I’m assuming that Village Voice is full of respectable fellows as well, so I assumed option (b) and left the following comment on their article. Hopefully they will allow it to be seen after moderation. So, here we go then, dear Village Voice…

To clarify: I am not a “right-wing blogger.” You guys seem to think that someone who is against Obama’s policies must by definition be “right-wing.” But on the contrary, historically I have criticized the right just as much as the left. That’s why the website is called *Libertarian* Christians.

Link to my original article:
http://libertarianchristians.com/2009/02/08/fear-is-the-new-hope/

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

The Village Voice and Fear-Hope

“A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe.”

President Barack Obama, February 4, 2009

Many of you are keenly aware of the absolutely insane $780 BILLION spending bill that Obama has just pushed through the House and Senate. And yes, you can quit calling it a “stimulus package,” Obama has now admitted that it’s gone beyond just stimulus and is just another spending bill. Get this, Obama said the following at the Democratic retreat on Thursday:

Then there’s the argument, well, this is full of pet projects. When was the last time that we saw a bill of this magnitude move out with no earmarks in it? Not one. (Applause.) And when you start asking, well, what is it exactly that is such a problem that you’re seeing, where’s all this waste and spending? Well, you know, you want to replace the federal fleet with hybrid cars. Well, why wouldn’t we want to do that? (Laughter.) That creates jobs for people who make those cars. It saves the federal government energy. It saves the taxpayers energy. (Applause.)

So then you get the argument, well, this is not a stimulus bill, this is a spending bill. What do you think a stimulus is? (Laughter and applause.) That’s the whole point. No, seriously. (Laughter.) That’s the point. (Applause.)

This is really what he said (laughter). No seriously, this is on record at WhiteHouse.gov. (Silence.)

The Wall Street Journal is so flabbergasted that they don’t even believe Obama really thinks these things:

Mr. Obama is now endorsing a sort of reductionist Keynesianism that argues that any government spending is an economic stimulus. This is so manifestly false that we doubt Mr. Obama really believes it. He has to know that it matters what the government spends the money on, as well as how it is financed. A dollar doled out in jobless benefits may well be spent by the worker who receives it. That $1 of spending will count as economic activity and add to GDP.

Fear is the New Hope

Actually, I don’t think he has to know that. Rather, I agree with Mike Rozeff at the LRC Blog, Obama truly believes this garbage. It’s consistent with the rest of his person and education. He has no substantial knowledge of economics and he has admitted it – both explicitly and implicitly in his above statement. Yet, Obama, like Dubya, thinks that the government has the capacity to figure out how to make things work again. Seems like Thomas Woods’s brand new book, Meltdown, will be quite appropriate to describe both the economy and Obama’s presidency soon enough.

Face it, this guy is in another world. A world where it’s a good idea to take other people’s money and bailout failing businesses in the hopes that failed managers can stop failing. A world where theft is moral and debasement of currency is how to get us out of debt. A world where fools run the most coercive machineries ever to exist. A world where manipulation is the rule, not reason.

Like the political cartoon I posted, the irony of this situation is just painful. Consider: Obama promised change, hope, a new Washington, and a myriad of other utopian values. Not that I believed this garbage, but one might have expected him to at least stick to the most basic things that he said, like not hiring lobbyists for the cabinet. But wait, so far he’s hired six, count ‘em six, current or former lobbyists to work for him. How appropriate for a liar. He was neither a peace candidate nor a moral candidate.

Moreover, he is using the same tactics as Republicans – the politics of fear. Just frighten people enough and they’ll fall in line. Unbelievable. Fear is how the Republicans gained control over us in 2001. Fear of terrorism, fear of uncertainty, fear of our fellow American citizen. How else can you explain the encroachments upon civil liberties, the trampling upon the Constitution. Now, Obama is using the same fear to push his agenda. Fear of economic pain, fear of uncertainty, and indeed even fear of our fellow Americans once again. Once again, Obama is instilling fear that those who endeavor to be productive and make money are by default taking advantage of others – the complete antithesis of the concept of voluntary trade.

Fear is the new hope.

Charles Krauthammer may for once have it right:

[He called it a] catastrophe, mind you. So much for the president who in his inaugural address two weeks earlier declared “we have chosen hope over fear.” Until, that is, you need fear to pass a bill…

After Obama’s miraculous 2008 presidential campaign, it was clear that at some point the magical mystery tour would have to end. The nation would rub its eyes and begin to emerge from its reverie. The hallucinatory Obama would give way to the mere mortal. The great ethical transformations promised would be seen as a fairy tale that all presidents tell — and that this president told better than anyone.

I thought the awakening would take six months. It took two and a half weeks.

Thanks to my buddy Grant for the great title. Maybe this will get played up on social media sites (please submit to Digg, Facebook, Stumbleupon, or your favorite site). Remember, you heard it here first – Fear is the New Hope.

Comment below, what do you think of Obama’s new plans?

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

Fear is the New Hope

The cartoon describes the situation perfectly, and quite profoundly as well. Banks have drowned themselves in bad debt, and those that were irresponsible are calling out for the government to save them from their own stupidity. They are requesting for privatizing whatever profits they have gained in the past, but socializing their losses now to us through the forceful arm of the State. And because the government is quite friendly with these folks, it is quite willing to go through with the plan.

Look at the cartoon again, think about how the events will unfold. Eventually, the water level will get below the valve and no more will go through. What will happen. You guessed it, both will drown.

A friend opined to me recently how these bailouts are like business-Viagra. But you can’t give Viagra to someone terminally ill and expect them to be “stimulated” (pardon the semi-crude statement), in fact it will probably make them worse. Likewise, you can’t absorb debt like this and expect no consequences. Sounds like another political cartoon in the works…

Hat tip to Chris and Young Americans for Liberty for posting this.

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

Washington to the Rescue!

First, a few funny things I found on Amazon: Get your very own Pocket Obama! (Thanks to Drew for sharing.) Train up your child in the way he should go with the Playmobil Security Checkpoint! Check out the reviews on this one, they are priceless: “I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger’s shoes cannot be removed.”

To follow up on last weeks links, Paul Green writes about Christianity and Intellectual Property.

I can haz moneyz now?

Anthony Gregor reported that House Republicans seemed poised to seriously consider being fiscally conservative again – well, at least for a few minutes. Obama’s new $825 billion stimulus package swiftly passed through the House regardless – 244 to 188. But one has to admit, when the entire opposition party and eleven others are opposed to a bill, the legislation can’t be good.

Obama signed his first bill into law this week, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, named for an Alabama woman who after a 19-year career at a tire factory complained that she wasn’t getting paid as much as some other men there. This begs the question: if she deserved that much more pay and her skills were so underappreciated, then why did she hang around for 19 years?

Obama continues to escalate the war in Afghanistan. In other war news, Blackwater has been banned from Iraq.

Funny, how can one believe in change when Obama keeps hiring lobbyists for the cabinet after saying time and time again how he wouldn’t hire lobbyists? Go watch this one minute video.

The Hayek Center is back up and running for all you Friedrich-philes.

Ex-NASA climatologist now is a global-warming skeptic. Get the politics out, I say!

Finally, here is a cleverly constructed video with a poignant point to make about how we live as Christians. I hope it gives you something to think about as you approach your congregation’s worship service this weekend.

And that, as they say, is the news.

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

Speedlinking Friday

“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.”

~Niels Bohr

I know as well as anyone that the future is uncertain and that much has yet to transpire. But now that Obama is officially the 44th President of the United States, I will reveal my thoughts, much like Justin Raimondo of Antiwar.com, regarding what I think will happen in 2009 with Obama as President. For the most part, I expect more of the same. As we eagerly professed on campus today, there is little to no substantial difference in the policy of George W. Bush and Barack Hussein Obama.

1. Inflation will reach record levels not seen since the 1970s, at least 10%.

Bailouts will continue. Government debt will spiral out of control. The Federal Reserve will keep pumping money into the economy. Already we have seen upwards of seven trillion dollars promised as the result of bailouts and the Fed – over one-half of the annual GDP of the USA. How this can be expected not to result inflation is beyond comprehension. I also expect the price of gold to soar at to at least $1000/oz. However, I doubt inflation will reach Weimar levels, though I admit it is something that we should be wary of over the horizon.

2. Economic protectionism will begin to be legislated from Congress in the name of our “economic national security.”

Of course, we know that this is already happening, but I think that unless other currencies fall with respect to the dollar to the levels of five years ago or more we will see industry continue to exit America. And as they attempt to do so, they will be extremely penalized. This will contribute further to cost-of-living increases (as protectionism always does), hurting the poor the most and further influencing those of fewer means to cry out to the government for even more intervention.

3. Universal Health Care will become reality.

With both houses of Congress and the Presidency controlled by the same party and the inevitable inflation coming, I fully expect that Universal Health Care will finally be shoved down our throats. The cost of health care will rise even further, and care quality will drop just as it does in all medically-socialized countries.

4. The Patriot Act will not be repealed, and we will not see an end to illegal wiretapping.

Ultimately, this prediction comes back to the presidential powers that Il Duce Bush took to new heights in the last eight years. I do not expect that those powers will be given up by Obama. Consequently, the encroachments upon civil liberties will continue in all the ways we have experienced thus far and likely moreso.

5. More war. We will not exit Iraq, and interventions in Afghanistan and Pakistan will expand to greater extents than we have ever seen.

Every indicator points to an expansion of Middle East interventions. Rahm Emmanuel, Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, “the surge is working” rhetoric, influence from the Israel lobby – it all screams “I’m going to continue the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war, we ain’t leaving!” While this should thrill pro-war conservatives, it should make all those who oppose war – whether liberal, conservative or libertarian – nothing short of livid. Change? I think not. What’s more, expect the liberal media pundits to begin to shill for Obama’s further interventions, and for conservatives to say things like “finally things are going our way in the media coverage of the War on Terror.”

So that’s what I think we’ll see. I pray to God that I’m wrong about any of these at all. Never would I be so happy to be wrong, but I don’t see much coming out of the Obama administration that favors the cause of liberty.

We will revisit these predictions at the end of 2009, and see how it turned out. Stick with me, we’ll make it!

What are your predictions? What do you think will happen? Comment below and discuss…

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

5 Predictions for 2009

• Acting in a very timely manner with my post yesterday, Nature reports that scientists are getting in line for their own part of the Obama stimulus package. And to top it off, these scientists think they should be planning the economy too: “The fact that we are invited to sit at the table with the economists when we are talking about the future of the US economy — it’s like a new day.” Pathetic.
• Republican Senator Rick Santorum continues to be an embarrassment to the decent conservatives everywhere, now even he is shilling for Obama. Quote: “There is an air of something big, something grand, something electric about to explode upon us. Barack Obama’s visage is everywhere. His relaxed and reassuring – even beatific – smile is omnipresent. So are his irrepressibly cute girls and their together mom.” Eeeewwwww.
• Lew Rockwell writes about the plane crash yesterday and the heroic pilot.
• Scott Ritsema (recent guest poster) reports that the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights has been effectively repealed by the Supreme Court, and by the SC “conservatives” no less. Will the nonsense ever stop?
• My wonderful friend Jaired writes about how the UN may try to interfere with parents and their children.

Now for some fun link goodness…

• Two of my favorite web personalities, Leo Babaua and Tim Ferriss, come together for an interview.
• Extremely geeky flash game (for my brother).

Last but not least, this is an insanely funny video of a gal who has only seen “bits and pieces” of the Star Wars trilogy trying to retell the story. I’m a huge Star Wars fan, so I laughed my socks off.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn’t seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

Speedlinking and fun stuff for January 16

It’s not too difficult to give a Christian argument against government bailouts of any form, but have you ever heard a Jewish argument against it? Here’s an article from the Wall Street Journal Online written by Robert Schonberger regarding a fascinating instance in the history of Israel.

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

Rabbi Hillel the Elder, the Credit Crunch, and the Bailout

They seem so happy playing their little game, don’t they?

Interfaith leaders lobby for auto aid | The Detroit News | detnews.com

Responding to concerns from their followers, a dozen interfaith leaders from across Metro Detroit announced Thursday they will conduct national lobbying to urge members of Congress to back loans for Detroit’s Big Three auto manufacturers and set up an information network about the social services they provide.

“Some of us have larger, national denominations and we can contact those members of Congress who are straddling the fence,” said Bishop Charles Ellis of Greater Grace Temple in Detroit.

“We can use our constituents in those communities to influence those people.”

Read: swindle.

This is just sickening. That Christian leaders would advocate wholesale theft from the American people to save businesses that were so poorly managed and, moreover, driven into the ground by the unions (with whom many of these clergyman’s laity gladly place their support) is absolutely monstrous.

The Bible says it very succinctly: Thou shalt not steal. Nevertheless, people around the country think that when the government does it – no matter what – it isn’t really stealing. Why do I say no matter what? Because they continually allow it. They continue to elect these fools, they continue to allow them free reign, they continue to rent seek from these supposed “benefactors”, they continue their lethargy.

Economically, a bailout is preposterous. Ethically, it is unjustified. Morally, it is heinous. Practically, it is disastrous!

Some preachers complain that the Grand Theft Auto video games are negatively affecting kids, while ignoring the Grand Theft Auto (and other grandiose thefts in the last few months) taking place right in front of their eyes. What foolishness!

Post from: LibertarianChristians.com

Interfaith Leaders of Detroit learn to play Grand Theft Auto